September 2022- Our house flooded! Back to school and a football game

We arrived home from Idaho on Sunday night. I was curious to see if Audrey would remember our house and where her bedroom is. As Ava and I went upstairs I said "uh oh..." because I could smell a strong mold smell. I assumed I had forgotten about some wet towels in the laundry room. Then Ava said "Why is the carpet all wet?"       No!!!!! 

I called Brent upstairs and we found standing water in the laundry room, and the carpet in part of the hallway and part of Ava's room was really wet too. Luckily, I had not gotten around to washing towels and blankets before we had left for Utah, so they had soaked up a ton of water in the laundry room, but made the walls moldy where they were touching. 

We called over our friend  who's a plumber and he helped us turn off the washer hose that was dripping and the cause of all this water! The next day was Labor Day, so the workers couldn't come start tearing things out and drying our house for a couple days. Luckily, our homeowner's insurance is going to cover the damage. 

Brent threw away a few of the books that were on the floor in the laundry and totally ruined. As I was preparing the pictures for this blog, I found that Coen had recorded a video 2 minutes after Brent took a picture of the books in the trash can. 

I usually trim the videos for the blog to be less than 30 seconds, but this gem of a video was TOO good, so I broke it up into two halves so I could keep it forever. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard in my life as I did watching this video. Brent and I were just dying watching it!

Our first day of school was September 6, after Labor Day. Coen, ever the finisher and rule-follower, needed a period at the end of his sign below.

Coen's teacher is Ms. Meng, who Ava had in 1st grade too. 

Ava's teacher is Ms. Leontine, who is Native American from Monument Valley.

My cuties- we were all so excited about the first day!

Coen had told me, I hope that Addie is in my class. We walked into his class and the very person we saw was Addie! 

At home, Audrey hung out with Mom & Dad while we worked. Audrey really likes to color and that entertained her for a while! 

We had our back to school dinner- kids chose spaghetti, and we had rolls out of the oven and jello too. Just a little nicer than normal to celebrate!

On Wednesday Audrey had her first day of school at Busy Bees, where Coen went two years ago. She was so excited!

She goes Mon/Wed/Fri from 8:40 - 12:40.

Brent and I both dropped Audrey off on her first day, and she had been so excited, talking about this day for so long, that I was surprised when she started to cry and cling to me. She had never cried in nursery or in last year's preschool! I left her with Brent and waited in the hall, and then he handed Audrey to her teacher and I felt so bad as we left, hearing her crying! "Mommy! You stay me!"  When I went to pick her up though, they said that she got distracted with the art activity and had a great rest of the day. 

Every day the teacher posts their activities and snacks for the day. I love her preschool!

Audrey is so good at coloring! Check out this picture:

The plumbers came and tore out the bathroom and the floor, and set fans and de-humidifiers around the house. The fans and humidifiers ran 24/7 for a whole week! Our bathroom is now in our playroom. 

And our bathroom is all torn up. 

Coen really likes to take selfies.... Tammy sent me this screenshot of her camera roll:

September was so smoky here because of a fire to the southeast of us, about 1 hour away. Some days it was unbearable to be outside and even at school the kids couldn't play outside for recess.

Brent and I got a babysitter and went to a ward party at a member's barn. We had bbq food and enjoyed talking with friends.

Brent somehow discovered some funny channels on TikTok (we had both never been on the app before). There were several nights in a row where we watched random videos and laughed our heads off. Here's a video so I can remember how hard Brent laughed: 

After a few days we got smarter and stopped looking at TikTok. 

The stake did an amazing Primary activity for the kids. The kids time traveled to meet different prophets from the scriptures, and got stamps in their passports at each station. 

The time travel hallway:

First station- Joseph of Egypt.

We have the hardest time keeping these desks clean! They get dirty in less than a day. Ava is always saying that it's not her stuff! This day I tried to motivate Ava by taking a before and after picture. I'm honestly not sure if this is the before or after picture...

Coen likes to play with his robotic bugs- they buzz around this course that he creates for them. 

A few months ago, I was so worn out with always working extra hours at work. I asked my boss if I could take a month off in September after Labor Day and he said of course. So my intention was to not work at all, but some of my audits hadn't finished in time, so I ended up working about 12 hours a week this month- just the hours Audrey was in preschool. It was still OK and very relaxing! I had extra time to do special things like play with the kids more, work on my blog books, change out the pictures on my wall, dentist appointments, etc. I was much less stressed than normal which was really nice! 

I took Coen to the dentist to get sealants and he got to choose a movie to watch. It was a hard appointment for the poor little dude, who has a small mouth, and they had to put in a huge mouth guard thing so that the sealants wouldn't get on his tongue or other teeth. He was gagging on the mouth guard and crying. After she was half way done, the lady told me, I don't think I can do the other side today. I asked Coen if he could be brave and do the other side if I held his hand. He said OK, and did it, phew!

We went to our friend's house for dinner with a couple other families. They live in the hills of Eugene and have a lot of property. The kids love playing on the swings at their house.

Park day, when the smoke wasn't too bad this day. One day Ava was stepping on ants. Coen said, "Ava stop! That's somebody's dad!"

On Saturday morning the kids and I met up with one of Ava's friends from school and her mom for breakfast and a playdate at the park. The kids buried Coen!

Brent got an email that students could buy tickets to the BYU football game for $25 a piece (most people we know pay anywhere from $150- $300 a ticket!). We decided to take the kids to their first football game! 

Brent didn't want to deal with the traffic and crazy expensive parking near the stadium, so we parked at a park across the river and walked. We got there early and walked about 1.5 miles! 

When we first got there, the kids were not a fan of the noise. Here's Ava trying to be happy, but not enjoying it... yet!

Too loud! It didn't help that we were sitting in the student section. 

A hot dog helped Ava feel happier about everything:

Before we knew it, she started to get really into it, cheering and dancing!

About 30 minutes into the game Coen asked me, "How do you get points?" I'm sure everyone would have loved my explanation to him. 

All in all, aside from the profane chants against Mormons, we enjoyed the football game. Although we all agreed it was a once in a very blue moon sort of activity for us. 

We really lucked out with the weather! It was beautiful and in the upper 60s. 

On Sunday morning we hosted the YM breakfast at our house and the Bishop's returned missionary daughter talked about missionary work. 

I think I took this picture to document that the kids LOVE Ramen. They would eat it every day if I let them! They eat it on Sundays after church, and usually one other day after school.

Audrey loves preschool and is so happy to go. Every day she tells me, "I no cry!" I guess she's proud that she didn't cry like she did on the first day. 

I got her a kitty backpack since she loves kitties.

We started a new chore chart, and each kid is in charge of helping with a part of dinner. I grouped it into Set/sweep ; Clear/wipe, Rinse/load. There are a couple other chores on the chart, and each time time the kids do one, they mark it off. At the end of the week we pay out 3 chores for a dollar. 

Ava usually does her chores, but Coen is not interested. One day Brent was telling Ava she is going to have so much money in her account from doing all these chores- what would she like to buy?! Then Brent asked Coen if he'd like to do his chore. Coen thought about it and then asked if he could have $1 per chore instead. Brent said no. Coen looked at the dishes that needed to be done then shook his head no. Not worth it to him. 

Audrey helps if she's in the mood!

Our flowers in front of the house stayed alive all summer while we were gone! I have been working on our yard a little bit at a time. 

Ava really wanted to register for drama. We were toying with the idea of signing her up for a play, Beauty & the Beast, but it was so expensive to be in the play! That evening, Brent found this note in his bed: "Roses are red, violets are blue, drama is my dream and it always will be). 

I will just say that this note thoroughly delighted Brent. We found a happy medium and signed Ava up for a song and dance class. She goes every Thursday for an hour and a half and loves it!

Audrey came with us to the dentist and was pretty good, watching Bluey on the phone. 

We dropped Brent off at school after the dentist and saw his office. 

Tammy comes to read to the kids every Tuesday. The kids performed their Do Re Mi for her one day. 

We went to a gathering for graduate students in a professor's backyard, and then took the kids to be babysat nearby. Brent's professor friend, Seth, is such a great mentor to Brent. His teenage son babysat the kids while we went to Hamilton!

We got the cheapest seats way up in the balcony but could still enjoy it. Plus, Seth's wife lent us binoculars so we could see their facial expressions. 

I love picking up my preschooler! She runs to give me a big hug and she's always proud of her art projects. It's especially cute when she's wearing a crown. 

I went to a girls night at a friend's house. It was a welcome Fall night, and everyone brought pumpkin flavored treats.

While I was at the girls night, Brent took the kids to the school's outdoor movie. What a good daddy!

Pushing both my big babies in big swings!

Ava did something that made Coen cry. When Coen cries, he wails. He all of a sudden stopped and I looked around the corner to see Audrey comforting him. Oh my heart!

We went to another professor's house for a gathering for cinema studies. Brent is teaching again in the cinema studies department this year. This house was so unique! They have a little apartment downstairs that is an airbnb, and on their property they have bees, chickens, bunnies, etc. 

Audrey got to pet the bunny.

Our bishop's daughter got married and I had Ava create a card. These are pigeons. 

At the reception, Audrey only wanted to dance if Coen would hold her hand.

After the wedding, Audrey was in such a bad mood and tired! She was crying, and yelling at us as we drove home from the reception. She came home and plopped herself on my bed and said "I'm in a bad mood." She giggled, and then the bad mood magically went away! I discovered that the "bad mood" is a Bluey episode and somehow remembering the lesson from that show, she was able to get out of her bad mood!

Ava's style- she wore these knee high Halloween socks some days!

One day Brent poured everyone orange juice. Later on, Coen said he never got his juice. Brent said he knew he poured it, so we were all looking around the kitchen, when Ava goes, "His juice was just sitting there so lonely, so I poured it into my cup." We started laughing and Ava got mad. She said, "Ok dad, here's something to think about..." and Brent started laughing harder, which just made Ava madder. Oh- a day in the Cowley home.

I took Audrey to her 3 year old check up (about 6 weeks late). She weighed 31.5 lbs (54%) and was 3'3 (84%). She's a tall girl! She wears size 4.

Audrey needed her flu shot and the nurse asked if she would like it in her arm or or leg. I didn't know which is better, so I asked Audrey (hoping it wouldn't backfire with her screaming and running away). Audrey confidently said, "my leg." So she laid down and I held her hand, and she bravely took the shot. She looked a bit offended/confused when she got the poke, but didn't cry!

We had a playdate with Will and Sam, while I had fun chatting with their mom. 

Every day when Audrey gets to preschool she puts her bee in the hive so they know she's there.

Brent organized a giant nerf gun war for the YM/YW and it was a hit.

We were getting ready for dinner and Audrey was being awfully quiet while she was watching her show. We found her asleep, wearing a bunny mask. 

This is the silly face Audrey makes when she is teasing me, telling me I'm a "bad girl." 

Ava had her first day of song and dance at Upstart Crow. She was slightly nervous to go in, but as we were waiting inside, some girls saw her Harry Potter shirt and said "I love Harry Potter!" Ava immediately relaxed and I knew she was going to have a fun time.

Riding bikes and scooters to the mailbox. Audrey rode so fast on her scooter, I was worried she was going to crash, so we've since kept the scooter for inside the house. Coen says: Perrin gave me a bike and I'm riding it in this picture. I really like it.

I love reading to the kids! Coen can still barely fit in my lap, so I need to soak this up as much as I can!

The kids had a Friday off school when Audrey still had preschool. Since I wasn't working, it was the prefect opportunity to take them to Get Air and have a special day, complete with Arby's at the end. 

Coen says: We went to Get Air and when we got to the top we would slide down.

There were only about 5 other kids in the entire place, so it was fun for them to do whatever they wanted! 

Coen says: I jumped up on to those but I couldn't swing. One time when I tried to do it, I fell in the pit. 

Audrey learned about circles this month, and boy is she good at drawing them now! Here she is with her art project of the day. 

Audrey told me, via some interpretation from Coen, that her favorite song at preschool is the Dinosaur stomping song. It came on our pandora station and the kids were so excited! Here's a video- if you can, watch how high Audrey stomps her legs at the end!

And that was September! Aside from the flooded house, it was such a fun month with less working and more playing!